RENOWNED Swiss politician Daniel Streich, who rose to fame for his campaign against minarets of mosques, has embraced Islam.

A member of the Swiss People’s Party (SVP) and a well-known politician, Daniel Streich was the first man who had launched a drive for imposition of ban on mosques minarets, and to lock the mosques in Switzerland. The proclamation of Streich’s conversion to Islam has created furore in Swiss politics, besides causing a tremor for those who supported ban on construction of mosques minarets.

Streich propagated his anti-Islamic movement far and wide in the country, sowed seeds of indignation and scorn for Islam among the people, and paved way for public opinion against pulpits and minarets of mosques.

But now Streich has become a soldier of Islam. His anti-Islam thoughts finally brought him so close to this religion that he embraced Islam. He is ashamed of his doings now and desires to construct the most beautiful mosque of Europe in Switzerland.

The most interesting thing in this regard is that at present there are four mosques in Switzerland and Streich wants to lay the foundation for the fifth one. He wishes to seek absolution of his sin of proliferating venom against Islam. He is thinking of a movement contrary to his previous one to promote religious tolerance and peaceful cooperative living, in spite of the fact that ban on mosques minarets has gained a legal status.

This is the greatest quality of Islam that it comes up with even greater vigour, when it is faced with confrontation.

Abdul Majeed Aldai, the president of OPI, an NGO, working for the welfare of Muslims, says that Europeans have a great desire to know about Islam. Some of them want to know about the relationship between Islam and terrorism; same was the case with Streich.

During his confrontation, Streich studied the Holy Quran and started understanding Islam.

He wished to be hard to Islam, but the outcome was otherwise. Aldai further says.

Recently the question of ban on minarets was put to voting in Switzerland, wherein the Swiss nationals gave the issue a legal status.

As per voting results 42.5 per cent people voted in favour of the minarets and 57.5 per cent supported the ban, while the Muslim population in Switzerland is only 6 per cent. The most wondrous thing in this regard, therefore, is the support of 42.5 per cent of population for only six per cent Muslims.
The analysts claim that ban on minarets and Islamic rituals has attracted the people towards Islam.
Streich was an important member of the Swiss People’s Party (SVP). His importance could be estimated from his influence on party’s policy making, in which he always had a prominent role. His movement against minarets was aimed at gaining political attention and interest. He won the slot of military instructor in the Swiss Army due to his popularity.
Born in a Christian family, Streich had a comprehensive study of Islam merely to malign and confront, but Islamic teachings had a deep impact on him. Eventually he de-linked himself from political activities and he embraced Islam. Streich has termed the SVO activities against the Muslims as satanic.
He says that he used to read the Bible and often went to chapel, but now he recites the Holy Quran and offers his prayers five times a day. He further says that he cancelled his party membership and made public his conversion. Streich says that he has found the truth of life in Islam, which he could not find in Christianity.
On the other hand the Swiss military authorities have feared that Streich, who was once a military instructor, might reveal army secrets to the Muslims.
An SVP National Council member says that Streich as military instructor could be dangerous.
However, a spokesman of Swiss Army while rejecting this impression said that the performance of our military was more important than that who instructed it.
However, from within their own ranks, a man is now working for the promotion of Islam and its teachings. The law of a country can ban minarets but not minds and hearts.
– Newsdesk

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subhanallah. Allah is truly the converter of hearts!!! Look at Abu Sufyan and Umar ibnul Khattab (radiyalahu3anhumaa)… both were enemies of Islaam but Allah guided them to the truth and they became amongst the best in their service to Islaam and the Muslimeen. May Allah guide all those who seek guidance. ameen

Yes that is completely true. It is also a reminder to us that we should not say that so and so is lost. Or these people are lost. Here is a beneficial short read on this.

—–

An excerpt from the 2008 ‘Aqeedah Series delivered by our brother Moosaa Richardson:

In discussing Chapter 11 باب مقلب القلوب / The One Who Turns the Hearts:

And the laazim of that chapter, the implementation, the way you affirm it, [is] of course Allaah controls the hearts, and we know that the hearts are between the two of the fingers of ar-Rahmaan; He turns them however He pleases. We affirm for Allah fingers, and we affirm for Allah the turning of the hearts, in a manner that befits His majesty. And the laazim of that, or the way we implement that after affirming it is that we make du’aa for ourselves, for our hearts to be made firm upon the deen of Allaah. And that we make du’aa for those people it might seem that their case is hopeless, that they are misguided. That we make du’aa for them to be guided because Allaah is the One Who is, the One Who has the qudrah (ability), to turn the hearts however He pleases.

So, we do not feel that the people are lost. And one way that’s a common manifestation that sometimes Muslims lose hope and despair in their brothers in Islaam who are astray or on different ideologies, is they say, “Those people are lost”. And this is a prohibited phrase for the Muslim to say. Rather, he should never say this and he should follow what is the laazim of this chapter, that Allaah is the turner of the hearts and we have hope for the Muslims and we make du’aa for the Muslims. Why do we not say that the Muslims are lost? Because the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhe wa sallam said, “من قال هلك الناس, فهو أهلكُهم”1 “Whoever has said that the people are lost (or destroyed, they’re gone), then he is the one who is most gone (he is the most destroyed of them).” And in one narration, “فهو أهلكَهم”, “He is the one who has actually destroyed them”, by his statement “الناس هلك”.

When a person says, think about when a person says, “هلك الناس”, “the people are lost”, what do you think his part will be in giving da’wah? And making strong efforts to guide the people when his position is the people are lost? Zero! He won’t do anything because the people are lost. Rather, if he says the people have hope and Allaah is مقلب القلوب, then how do you think his efforts would be in da’wah? Earnest! And he’ll be, he’ll struggle and he’ll work for the guidance of the people by Allaah’s permission.

So be aware of saying phrases similar to “the people are lost”, “the people are misguided”, “there’s no hope for them”; these are prohibited phrases and they are, in actuality, phrases that lead a person to become from the Khawaarij. How is that? What’s the da’wah of the Khawaarij built on? “The people are lost, that’s why we have to kill them. The Muslims are all Kuffaar.2 The people who are ascribing to Islaam, they’re all disbelievers and they’re lost; that’s why their blood is halaal and that’s why we have to destroy them; that’s why we have to take out their leaders; that’s why we have to destroy and kill and blow them up.” Because why? هلك الناس” ‘the people are lost’. “The only way to correct the situation is to rid the Earth of all of them.” It’s a da’wah of frustration, whereas our da’wah is a da’wah of patience. Our da’wah is a da’wah of effort and believing in Allaah ‘azza wa jall that He is, مقلب القلوب. All of that goes back to the meaning of this chapter.

1 Saheeh Muslim

2 Similar to the statements from Abdullah Faisal al-Khaarijee al-Jamaykee when he said, “So the Muslims in this country (i.e. the UK), the majority of them, they have no eemaan and no taqwaa, the average Muslim you meet on the street he has no eemaan and no taqwaa…” – in a lecture entitled, “Knowledge”. Also reminiscent of the statements from Sayyid Qutb such as, “There is not a Muslim country upon the face of the earth or even a Muslim community with social principles based on Allah’s legislation or on Islamicunderstanding.” – In The Shade Of The Quraan, 4/2122